Pettitte prepares for final start of his career

In less than a half-hour, Andy Pettitte will take the mound in his hometown in Houston, playing what seems to be a meaningless game for the Yankees. However, there’s more to this start that meets the eye. This start will be the final start that Andy Pettitte will take the mound and pitch in his entire career. No, it’s not going to be like when Pettitte left then came back a year later. This time, he’s done.

There will be a lot of emotions going through Andy Pettitte’s mind as he throws the ball for the final time on a Major League mound, but Pettitte will have to balance between the start being enjoyable and emotional.

“I think it will be enjoyable, for sure.” Pettitte said to Lohud. “I think it’s going to be emotional. I’m not real sure what to expect to tell you the truth. There’s no doubt that when I get out of the game it’s going to be sad because that’s it. I’m not exactly sure how it will be for me tonight.”

Pettitte also talked about the players that were the most influential in his career, ranging from past to present.

“It’s kind of gone in stages.” Pettitte said. “When I first came up, Jimmy Key, my first year, because he was who I wanted to be. When he pitched, I was watching his game instead of watching our Triple-A game so I could see how he was trying to get guys out. Then it moved from him to Kenny Rogers, who is a close friend of mine. Then when Roger (Clemens) came over, obviously he made a huge impact on my career.

But there’s still the guys that you’re kind of intertwined with that you feel that you feed off each other. Obviously, for me here, CC Sabathia is just a huge guy for me now and a big reason for why I’ve always wanted to come back here and pitch on a staff with him. The competitor that he is, and Hiro, these are guys that, if they weren’t here, it would kind of make my decisions a little bit tougher as far as when I think about coming back.”

So while Andy Pettitte took time to reflect on his year with the Yankees (and the couple of years he spent on the Astros), Yankees fans are in a state of sadness all over again. Not only are they going to lose beloved closer Mariano Rivera, but they are going to also lose Andy Pettitte. Sometimes, the hardest word to say to a player that means so much to you–is “goodbye”.

NOTES & NEWS

— Mariano Rivera no longer wants to play CF and his reasons are understandable. He doesn’t want to hurt his surgically repaired knee. Rivera also officially said that he will never pitch again. He left everything on the mound on Thursday night–that and his arm is incredibly sore.

—Alex Rodriguez once again is making the news all about him (A-Rod free drama was nice while it lasted). Anyway, he told reporters he’s awaiting the appeal process, claiming he’s fighting “for his life and his legacy”. He also states for MLB to “bring it” and that he’ll be ready.